Lake County seeks bids for Stony River bridge rehabilitation project

Lake County has moved Bridge 38535 on New Tomahawk Road toward a summer rehabilitation that will close the Stony River crossing and reroute traffic on a road that carries about 137 vehicles a day. The 1972 bridge is being treated as a preservation job, not a full rebuild, a sign the county is trying to extend the life of an aging but important link before it turns into a bigger disruption.

The county advertised the project on April 29 as Highway Improvement Project SP 038-634-001, with the federal project number STBG 3826 (251). Electronic bids are due through Bid Express by 11 a.m. May 28, with a public opening to follow at the Lake County Service Center in Two Harbors. Lake County’s contract system lists an award date of June 9, a contract start date of July 6 and a construction end date of Sept. 19.

A separate county notice says New Tomahawk Road, CSAH 34, will be closed at the Stony River during the work. The posted detour uses MN Highway 1 and St. Louis County CSAH 21 and CSAH 120 between Babbitt and the Ely Municipal Airport. The closure is expected to last eight to 10 weeks sometime between June and October 2026, a span that will matter to anyone using the route for local travel, service calls or time-sensitive deliveries. Because the bridge sits within the Superior National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service says the project will also affect access to some forest roads.

The project scope shows why the county chose rehabilitation. A Lake County flyer says crews will replace the existing bridge deck and railing and rehabilitate the abutment and pier supports. The bid items include removal of 3,681 square feet of deck, 3,681 square feet of new bridge slab concrete, 28,400 pounds of epoxy-coated reinforcement bars, 217 linear feet of timber railing and 1,375 pounds of structural steel, along with traffic control, lead collection and disposal, riprap, a silt curtain and turf establishment.

Jason DiPiazza is listed in the county contract system as both contract owner and contract engineer, with the office at 1513 County Highway 2 in Two Harbors. For Lake County’s highway program, Bridge 38535 is the kind of work that often goes unnoticed until traffic is stopped. This time, the county is addressing the crossing on a defined schedule, before a longer closure or a more serious failure forces the issue.